Brown tried to co-opt Clegg into an alliance but the Lib Dem leader was having none of it, writes MARK HENNESSY, London Editor
LIKE PRIZEFIGHTERS in a ring, prime minister Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg came to Manchester to engage in 90 minutes of debate.
Throughout, the three, who had spent days in preparation, emphasised how much they listen to ordinary people. Indeed, at times it became a series of “I met a man”, “I met a woman” stories.
Brown tried a few jokes, but for the most part was happy to portray himself as “a serious man for serious times” – a mantra that he has voiced often during the 10 days of campaigning.
The Labour leader tried repeatedly to co-opt the Liberal Democrat leader, whom he might need after May 6th to form a government, into an alliance against the Cameron though Clegg was having none of it.
“Nick supports me on this,” said Brown when he raised his plans to reform the Houses of Parliament. Clegg countered: “What’s to support? They’ve done nothing for 13 years.”
However, the Liberal Democrat, who was good at looking directly into the camera, tended to sigh at the contributions from the other leaders – a tactic that has long been deemed a No, No in political leaders’ debates.
The state of the British economy dominated much of the 90 minutes, with Brown insisting that Conservative spending cuts would send the country over the cliff into “a double-dip recession”.
But this was met with a riposte from the Conservative leader: “How is cutting waste going to damage the economy. It’s like saying that giving up smoking will somehow be bad for your health. Giving up waste will be good for the economy.”
Cameron, who must win a historic number of seats if he is to get a majority in the House of Commons and oust Brown from Downing Street, urged voters to back hope over pessimism when they go to the polls on May 6th.
From mid-afternoon the nerves among party handlers was evident as they gathered in the press room , with Labour’s Alastair Campbell and Charlie Whelan prominently on view.
The closure of British airspace caused by ash from a volcano in Iceland – which owes Britain billions following the banking crisis – caused fears that the debate would slip down the media’s rankings.
“I thought we asked them for a mountain of cash, not a mountain of ash,” joked one Labour staffer.
Whelan, who was noted for his often-muscular performances as Brown’s press secretary in the latter’s days in the treasury, said the 90-minute debate would be about “substance rather than spin”. It had more than people might have thought.
